Brush-drying stands



1, 1964 J. T. SCULLY 3,144,231

BRUSH-DRYING swans Original Filed April 24, 1959 A Quin!!! INVENTOR:

q- J is" United States Patent ice 3,144,231 BRUSH-DRYING STANDS John T. Scnlly, 235 W. 76th St., New York 23, N.Y. Continuation of application Ser. No. 808,694, Apr. 24, 1959. This appiieation Nov. 2, 1960, Ser. No. 66,883 3 (Ilaims. (Cl. 248-110) This invention relates to brush-drying stands generally and more particularly to a brush-drying stand for or combined with small, personal or toilet brushes commonly used for scrubbing the hands or finger nails.

This present application is a continuation of the application for Letters Patent filed by me April 24, 1959, Serial Number 808,694, for an improvement in Brush Drying Stands, and now abandoned in favor of this application.

Hand scrub or finger nail brushes commonly stand on a wash basin rim or a nearby shelf and, after use, even when some moisture has been shaken out of the bristles, they usually stand on their bristles in pools of water formed by their own drippings with the result that the next user, in hurriedly picking up such a brush, often splatters water upon himself, his clothing or other things and thereby causing annoyance and soiling. Further, the fact that the brushes stand in their own formed pools and add further drippings to the pool in the drying out process serves to accelerate deterioration of the bristles as well as to deprive them of the desired stiffness required for the work to be done.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide a stand upon which a hand scrub bristle brush may be stood upon its bristle points and whereby the drippings from the bristles will spread out and down in spaced airadrnitting openings in the plate and thereby prevent the accumulation of moisture on the bristle engaging surface of the stand and whereby the drying out of the bristles and consequent return to the desired stiffness is accelerated. A further object is to provide a brush-drying stand of simple and inexpensive construction which will not injure the hand and which is portable and economical in space requirement. Further objects will become apparent from the description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which similar reference numerals refer to similar or corresponding parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top and side perspective elevation of the invention showing a hand scrub brush in place, the brush backing being broken away to show bristle tuft-holding sockets therein. FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a part shown in FIG. 1, but with the brush omitted. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 with parts shown in elevation; and FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 2.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 14 inclusive, the brush-drying stand, generally designated S, is shown supporting a small hand scrub or finger nail bristle brush B comprising a rectangular back or backing 10 in which are stapled tufts of bristles 11 which may be natural or synthetic. Stand comprises an oblong, rectangular as shown, or any other suitable shape, plate 12, preferably of uniform thickness, having a top or bristle-engaging surface 13, preferably flat, and a bottom surface 14. The plate is supported with its bottom surface spaced from an external support X, such as a wash basin rim or a shelf, by short corner legs spaced from each other and which rest upon support X. For stability and to minimize danger that the plate and brush might be accidentally upset during the movements of a persons hands in and about the basin, the plate sits very low on its support and, as is shown, the combined thickness of the brush-drying stand from the bottom of its legs to the top 3,144,231 Patented Aug. 11, 1964 surface of the plate is preferably less than the thickness of the brush from the end points of its bristles to the top surface of its back or backing and more preferably the thickness of the stand may be less than half the thickness of the brush. The legs may be molded integral with the plate, but in this instance cap nuts 15 with round or dome bottoms are fastened to the plate by screws 16, having their heads countersunk in corner holes, and these nuts provide the legs on the plate which is preferably of plastic material. The dome shaped or tapered bottom ends of legs 15 provide a minimum of external support contacting surfaces on the plate thereby minimizing the size of pools of water, when the surface of the external support may be wet, which may cling to the legs of the plate at their bottoms and thereby retard evaporation of the moisture from the external support and, further, the tapered bottoms or ends of the legs will provide advantage in separating the plate from a mold in instances where the legs may be molded integral with the plate. For compactness, especially when the stand is on the customary wash basin rim, the tapered bottom ends of the legs lie within the downward plane of the perforated plate, and for further increasing the stability of the plate, the legs are preferably, as shown, adjacent each end of the long sides of the plate. Since the plate and the formation of bristles of the brush have the same general shape, the brush can be endwise reversed on the plate without interfering with the drying efficiency of brush or plate and the plate can be endwise reversed on the external support eliminating any confusion as to whether one end of the plate or the other end should face away from the user or whether one end or the other of the brush should be the leading end when the brush is placed on the plate. Formed in the plate and extending downwardly therein from the top through the bottom surface are relatively large air-admitting, circular holes or openings 17 which are closely grouped together and which present an area as large as or larger than the area of bristle points on the brush and, further, preferably present a hole or opening combined area larger than the combined area of the material between the holes or openings. I have found that if the bottom of the plate is spaced approximately five-sixteenths of an inch from the supporting surface of external support S and the holes have an individual diameter of three-sixteenths of an inch, or a greater diameter, in a plate approximately threesixteenths of an inch thick, a brush with a bristle point area approximately the size of, or smaller than, the hole area of the plate will dry rapidly because of the large amount of air circulated beneath the plate and up into the holes and into the formation of bristles and, further, that the draining of moisture from the bristles down into the holes directly and down into the holes from the top surface of the plate is rapid enough to prevent accumulation of moisture on the top surface of a greater thickness or depth than a mere cover with the result that the bristles stand temporarily on only a damp surface and that this damp surface is a relatively small area compared with the area of the formation of the bristles of the brush and whereby most of the bristles stand oppositely over or at the top of the holes and not on the top surface of the plate at all. Although a large portion of the formation of bristles in the brush will stand opposite or at the top of the closely spaced air-admitting openings 17, these openings are spaced apart enough to provide sufficient spacing material at the sides of the openings so as to present a top supporting surface adapted to support a hand and finger nail bristle brush with all the bristles of the brush disposed in a plane, or planes, at least as high as the top surface of the plate (see FIG. 1) and with some of the bristles opposite the openings 17, whereby the brush is supported with its bristles wholly at and above the top surface of the plate to prevent the bristles being flexed by the side walls or edges of the openings 17 as the brush is slidably moved on or off the plate with the result that no moisture may be thrown on the user, his clothing or on fixtures as would otherwise be the result were the bristles flexed by the walls or edges of the openings and permitted to spring backlto normal position and snap ofi moisture as the spring back ceases. Further, I have found that the relatively large number of holes with such a large diameter in the three-sixteenths of an inch platea relatively thick platecauses most if not all of the drained or dripped moisture to be retained on the plate top surface and on the side walls of the holes and on the bottom surface of the plate until it is all evaporated, with the result that no moisture appears to drip through the plate to the external support which always appears clean and dry beneath the plate.

It will be observed, upon particular reference to FIG. 1, that the bristle brush stands on the points of the tips of its bristles on the top surface of the plate. S and that the spaces between the corner legs or cap nuts 15 provide air-admitting openings which are lower than the plate in order that air may enter the bottoms of vertical openings 17.

Any suitable material may be used for any of the parts.

Having described the invention, I claim:

1. In toiletarticles, the combination including a bristle brush air-drying stand having a plate provided with top and bottom surfaces and a plurality of spaced air-admitting openings extending from the top surface of-the plate, down through the bottom surface thereof, the top surface of the material of the plate adjacent and spacing said openings presenting a supporting surface to engage against the point ends of the bristles of a hand scrub brush, a hand scrub bristle brush having a formation of bristles with point ends, said brush adapted to detachably rest on said plate and with the point ends of said bristles engaged against said top supporting surface of the plate and with said formation of bristles simultaneously disposed opposite the tops of said air-admitting openings of the plate and with all the bristles of said formation disposed in a plane, or planes, at least as high at all times as said top supporting surface of the plate as said brush is wholly supported by said plate and resting thereon bristles down, the combined area of the openings at their tops being greater than the combined area of the material spacing said openings at the top surface of the plate, and support means on said plate projecting downwardly 0f the bottom surface thereoffor supporting said plate standing on an external support and spaced above the top surface thereof.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 and with said plate having side edges all therearound and with said supporting surface of the plate being in a plane at least as high as said side edges of the plate whereby the plate is adapted to receive a bristle brush slidable thereonto from all side edges of the plate.

3. In toilet articles, the combination as claimed in claim 1 and with said plate having side edges all therearound and with said top supporting surface of the plate being in a plane at least as high as said side edges of the plate whereby the plate is adapted to receive a bristle brush slidable thereonto from all side edges of the plate, and with the side edges of said plate spaced above the top surface of an external support on all sides therearound of the plate a distance at least as high as the bottoms of said openings by said support means whereby to provide in said drying stand on all sides thereof and adjacent said support means air-admitting passages disposed lower than said bottom surface of the plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 80,110 Arnold July 21, 1868 486,137 Taylor Nov. 15, 1892 503,410 Everett Aug. 15, 1893 1,661,282 Carmean et al. Mar. 6, 1928 2,577,496 Wolfer Dec. 4, 1951 

1. IN TOILET ARTICLES, THE COMBINATION INCLUDING A BRISTLE BRUSH AIR-DRYING STAND HAVING A PLATE PROVIDED WITH TOP AND BOTTOM SURFACES AND A PLURALITY OF SPACED AIR-ADMITTING OPENINGS EXTENDING FROM THE TOP SURFACE OF THE PLATE DOWN THROUGH THE BOTTOM SURFACE THEREOF, THE TOP SURFACE OF THE MATERIAL OF THE PLATE ADJACENT AND SPACING SAID OPENINGS PRESENTING A SUPPORTING SURFACE TO ENGAGE AGAINST THE POINT ENDS OF THE BRISTLES OF A HAND SCRUB BRUSH, A HAND SCRUB BRISTLE BRUSH HAVING A FORMATION OF BRISTLES WITH POINT ENDS, SAID BRUSH ADAPTED TO DETACHABLY REST ON SAID PLATE AND WITH THE POINT ENDS OF SAID BRISTLES ENGAGED AGAINST SAID TOP SUPPORTING SURFACE OF THE PLATE AND WITH SAID FORMATION OF BRISTLES SIMULTANEOUSLY DISPOSED OPPOSITE THE TOPS OF SAID AIR-ADMITTING OPENINGS OF THE PLATE AND WITH ALL THE BRISTLES OF SAID FORMATION 